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====== הָיָה ======
{{tag>hebrew}} 
~~NOTOC~~
The word הָיָה means "to exist" or "to be" or "to become" or "to come into being" and occurs 3561 times in the Old Testament.

This is the foundational verb of existence, identity, becoming and occurrence.
  * It is used in the creation narrative of Genesis 1, represented by the English words "Let there be" (<autott>genesis_1:3|Genesis 1:3</autott>)
  * God also connects his name with הָיָה when he says that "I AM has sent me" (<autott>exodus_3:12|Exodus 3:12</autott>)
  * The word is frequently used to mean "and it came to pass", e.g. <autott>ruth_1:1|Ruth 1:1</autott>
  * And the word is used by the prophets to announce "it shall come to pass", e.g. <autott>isaiah_2:2|Isaiah 2:2</autott>

The most common forms of היה in the Old Testament are:

| 3rd person masculine singular perfect | "Was" / "And it was" / "Came to pass" | הָיָה / וְהָיָה |
| 3rd person feminine singular perfect | "She was" / "It became" | הָֽיְתָה |
| 3rd person masculine singular form (from the imperfect) | "And it came to pass" / "And it was" | וַיְהִי |
| 3rd person masculine singular imperfect | "He will be" / "It will be" | יִהְיֶה |
| 3rd person masculine singular jussive | "Let it be" / "May it be" / "Be" | יְהִי |
| 1st person common singular imperfect | "I will be" / "I am" / "I shall be" | אֶהְיֶה |

===== Root and Stem =====

  * Root: היה (//h-y-h//)
  * A Qal verb most of the time
  * Other stems (like Niphal and Hiphil) are rare or have slightly different meanings

===== Examples =====

==== Exodus 3:14 - Used for Divine Self-Revelation ====

In Exodus 3:14, God says to Moses:
  * אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה
  * "I AM who I AM" (or "I will be what I will be")

Here the verb אֶהְיֶה is the 1st person imperfect of היה, meaning "I am" or "I will be"

Note that God's personal name YHWH likely is related to the same root היה, which emphasizes God's being, existence and faithfulness.